Zoe's Musings

Before I start I'd just like to say I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and that you were all massively spoilt by Santa. I thought today I'd share with you some of the bits and pieces I was lucky to receive from relatives and friends, because I love seeing what everyone else gets! If you have written a similar post then please feel free to link it below because I'd love to see it!

From my parents I got lots of lovely things, including lots of new baking equipment for uni as I have none, some chocolate and this amazing Soap & Glory gift set! I love S&G skincare products and this was one of the things high up on my wish list so I was very happy to receive it. I also got a great little hand made quilted basket that my mother made me to put on my desk to keep my keys and SD cards etc in, as I've been looking for one for ages that would fit on my uni desk, as I'm always losing my keys! I also got a cute Minnie Mouse cushion for my bed at uni. My parents also bought me a mason jar drinking glass which is super cute and very tumblr! It was filled with chocolate too, but those have almost all gone now lol!

My brother got me a Tanya Burr nail polish that I've been lusting after for months now. I've tried to stop buying myself nail polish as I spend way too much of my wages on pretty polishes, so this has stayed on my wish list for a long time. It's the shade Little Duck, which was re-released with the redesign of her packaging, and I can't wait to try it out in the new year. I also received the Tanya Burr Hollywood Eyeshadow palette from my mum, which was also on my wish list after I saw Lily Pebbles rave about it. The shades look gorgeous and I think I might wear them for my birthday on the 31st.

My dad picked out a set of Claudia Winkleman for M&S nail polishes, which are great quality and are such pretty shades. I don't own a red or a navy polish so I'm very happy with that! I'm currently wearing the navy blue shade and the quality of the polishes are fantastic.

I collect mugs, which may seem a bit weird, but I'm an avid tea drinker, so having lots of mugs kind of makes sense for me, and I'm also a huge fan of VW camper vans, so I was really pleased to receive a camper van mug with matching coaster for Christmas this year.

A few of my relatives very generously gave me some money as a present, some of which I have spent on boxing day sales, so look out for a post in the next few days on all the things I bought! I also wanted some burgundy Toms to replace my battered old red ones, so I ordered those online.

Lastly one of my best friends bought me the sing along Frozen DVD, which I'm really looking forward to watching!

So what did all of you get for Christmas? I hope you all had fun and ate loads!

Hi everyone! Today I thought I'd try something new and do a review of a brand. The brand I've chosen is Barry M, and I'm going to focus on their nail polishes as I've not tried any of their makeup yet.

They're my favourite brand of nail polish, they're so cheap & are always on offer, and the quality of the nail polish itself is fantastic, plus the colour range is ever expanding. I thought I'd give you a rundown of all of the colours I own, the different formulas, my favourite colours, and try to do swatches of each colour. So here goes!

Nail Paint
Bog standard formula, no bells & whistles. I find it's not as shiny & hardwearing or as thick as the Gelly Hi Shine. Only needs 1 coat (however I've not tried a lighter shade of this formula so they might need more than 1 coat!)

Colours I have:
Raspberry, which is a lovely deep red colour.
Black
Cappuchino, which I've actually just repurchased as my first one got spilt and then went all gloopy. It's a lovely brown/mushroom colour, and I love wearing it at this time of the year.


Gelly Hi Shine
This formula is really shiny (hence the name), is super thick and glossy, and goes on really nicely.

Colours I have:
Blue Grape, which isn't my most worn shade, but it's a very nice royal blue colour.
Grapefruit, a deeper pink/coral colour, which is great for the summer.
Rose Hip, which is a really pretty baby pink shade.
Sparkling Ruby, which I've only just bought. I think it's new, and exclusive to Superdrug. It's such a lovely Christmassy colour, with little sparkles in, and I can't wait till winter properly sets in so I can wear it!


Matte
Doesn't need much explanation, this category is just the matte shades I have. I lived in Crush last Autumn/Winter, absolutely adore the shade, and the matte top coat will turn any colour I have into a matte nail polish which is really cool!

Colours I have:
Crush, which is one of the first Barry M polishes I got, and I was obsessed with from the first time I painted my nails with it. It's very similar to Raspberry, is just a bit darker (and obviously is matte).
Matte Top Coat



Speedy Quick Dry
This is a new collection, which dries super quickly and looks really nice on the nails. I adore the pastel shades of this range.

Colours I have:
Eat My Dust, which is an amazing baby blue shade, and is one of my favourites.
In A Heart Beat, a lovely pale coral colour.

I definitely want to try Pit Stop, Lap Of Honour, and Need For Speed next, as they're all absolutely gorgeous, but are all more spring/summer colours so I might wait until after Christmas to pick them up.



Aquarium Collection
These are so cool, I've only got one so far, but I definitely want to add some more as they're all stunning and really unique colours.

Colours I have:
Treasure chest, which is a top coat with little gold flakes. I've not tried this yet, but it'd look amazing with In A Heart Beat